Pushy Brands in danger of alienating Young

By Andrew Horsfall,
Marketing Assistant
at fhios.
Young people are on the verge of abandoning social networking sites due to the commercialism of the websites.
Young people welcome the presence of brands on social networking sites but over half say they will stop using a network if it becomes too commercialised.
A survey carries out by Webtrends showed:

85% of people [...]

Brand vs. Retailer – Round 1 Established brand products vs. Own label products

By Andrew Horsfall,
Marketing Assistant
at fhios.
There has been a new increase in co-operation between retailers and brands, driven by the customer and consumer confidence driving efficiency.
Since the recent dip in the economy a battle had arisen between retailers and brands, born from the growing number of retailers developing own label products to rival the established [...]

Four trends in youth marketing

By Andrew Horsfall,
Marketing Assistant
at fhios.
The rise of Web 2.0 has given rise to the Cyber Generation and has brought fresh challenges that brands must navigate to connect with the elusive group. Marketers are required to become totally immersed in the wired world from tweeting, and texting, to social networking.
MTV commissioned an in-depth study into the [...]

Who will pay for online content?

By Andrew Horsfall,
Marketing Assistant
at fhios.
According to Harris Interactive not many! A report form Harris Interactive reveals that as much as 75% of on-line users of news readers would switch to an alternative free source of news if their regular news site charged for access to content.
These results do not make good reading for on-line [...]

Is Re-branding a viable solution why not Re-position?

July saw the completion of Norwich Union’s re-branding to Aviva, after intensive marketing and advertising campaigns to help customers make the transition to the new brand identity.
When the re-brand was first mentioned, many opposed the idea because the strong legacy Norwich Union had. People knew it, relied on it and trusted it, a point which [...]

The top ten sectors in the UK with the best subscriber loyalty?

A recent study conducted by permission marketing company Sign-up.to looked into the email marketing performances of companies in the UK.
The top ten sectors with the lowest unsubscribe to open rates in the country were:

Government – 0.25%
Publishing – 0.54%
Finance/Insurance – 0.54%
PR – 0.92%
Travel – 1.01%
Industrial/Manufacuring – 1.35%
Charity – 1.51%
New Media – 1.59%
Legal/Accounting – 1.74%
B2B Services – [...]

The post-recession economy – how will consumers spend when the recession is over?

By Martin Rosenmejer,
User Experience Research Consultant
at fhios.
The Western world is still in recession, but there are now indications that we are facing better times. Stock markets are slowly recovering and consumer confidence is strengthening. These economic forecasts influence the ongoing debate within marketing and consumer behaviour. After a long period of seeking to understand the [...]

Online shoppers get stuck in the aisles!

A recent study has scored online retailers based on the strength and weakness of their shopping baskets. The study revealed that most chains scored a failing grade with their checkout systems.
For retailers the results are more than disappointing, especially with consumers still budgeting their income, a failure to clinch sales due to complicated checkout systems [...]